Author with grandfather

Flying my grandfather for his 90th birthday

Every flight is exhilarating, but not every flight will be logged as a lifelong memory. This was one of those flights I will remember forever. Grandma nervously hugged us goodbye as Grandpa, Dad, and I squeezed into the compact Skyhawk.

Announcing the Young Pilots Writers’ Challenge

Attention all pilots under 23 years of age. Your voice needs to be heard as part of the general aviation community. It’s not just multi-thousand hour pilots who have wisdom to share and stories to tell. You are the next generation of pilots. For you, the good old days are right now! Air Facts is sponsoring a Young Pilots Writers' Challenge. Here are the details.

The lessons of the lake – a young pilot’s experience

It had been just four months since I climbed out of the plane with the beaming smile on my face that proved I was certified private pilot. At age 17, it truly seemed unreal to me. Nevertheless, today was the day, and a beautiful day at that, for the longest cross country flight of my young career.

Building a career by believing in your dream

In the first article from our "Young Guns" series, meet Andrea Tomaselli, a young pilot from Venezuela who followed his dreams and made captain on the MD-11 at just 27. He shares his story and what he learned about succeeding in a turbulent aviation industry.
Hudson River flight

The moment I felt like a pilot: the Hudson River exclusion

In our latest Young Pilot article, high school senior Ben Conlin shares a memorable flight up the Hudson River. He says the flight was "a fresh breath to flight and reminder of why many pilots began flying in the first place."

One dream, one goal

There is no history of pilots in my family. I always have to explain myself in a very detailed way to my family about what I want to do in the future. There are all of these pilots who have dads or moms who are pilots as well, but I am alone.

What did you sign up for?

It is very easy as a pilot to become enthralled with becoming a more advanced aviator and completely lose touch with everything that called you to aviation in the first place. It doesn't take very long either. For me it happened in about 120 hours. I had fallen out of love.

My first emergency landing

It wasn’t long after I got my pilot’s license that I encountered my first emergency landing. It was a day I will never forget. My instructor, who is also a great friend of mine, was going to teach me on how to fly a CJ-6 Nanchang, a high performance complex aircraft.

License to Learn, part 3: forty hours and final

In the third and final article in this series, 18-year old pilot Kyle Libby shares the story of his checkride, including some great tips for student pilots. He also explains how earning his license changed his perspective.

The best perspective is from above

In the latest article from our Young Pilots series, 17-year old Michael Janik shares the flight that ignited a passion for aviation, and how he found a way to pay for flight training.

Are you a plain cheesecake pilot?

Get out there and try something new, something exhilarating, or something that perhaps is a fear! Don’t get stuck eating plain cheesecake all your aviation career; come join me as I try some double chocolate cheesecake and maybe, just maybe, we will change the general aviation community for the better in the process.

The reason I never fly alone

In the first entry from our Summer Writing Challenge, 24-year old Alec Synakowski shares the ups and downs of earning a pilot's license fresh out of college. After a medical setback, Alec finally managed to fly home to the grass strip in New York that started his dream.

License to Learn, Part Two: aviate, navigate, communicate

In part two of this series, 17-year old Kyle Libby shares the story of his solo cross countries. From communications struggles to getting lost, there were plenty of real world lessons along the way.

Summer Writing Challenge

Attention all pilots from 16 to 24 years old. Your voice needs to be heard as part of the general aviation community. All summer long, Air Facts will publish stories from young pilots in addition to our usual content of stories about safety, history, weather, technique and a dozen other topics.

License to Learn: ground to solo

In order to have a robust general aviation community, we need to learn from all participants, not just those multi-thousand hour pilots. Here 18-year old Kyle Libby, a new pilot, shares his insight into the training process and his flight training experience. His perspective offers a lot to think about for more experienced pilots.